My Mount Kailash Trip

Before sharing the story, I would like to share some updates about Gang Rinpoche also known as Gangtise  Mount Kailash.

Updates on Mount Kailash

1. 1. Travel to Mount Kailash is open from 2023 May.
   2. Many new hotels including the 3-star Himalaya Hotel are available in Darchen town.
   3. Vehicle road from Darchen to Dirapuk Monastery and Darchen to Zutrul Puk Monastery for Traveler's Health Emergency.
   4. Cement building Guest houses at Dirapuk Monastery and Zutrul Puk Monastery, there is no hot shower available at the moment.
   5. 4G Internet at Dirapuk Monastery and Zutrul Puk Monastery.

My Mount Kailash Trip Story 

The first time when I was at Mount Kailash was in the year 2005 as a Tour Guide. Again to get blessings from the precious mountain, I started my journey to Mount Kailash from Lhasa in the year 2019 September 23rd.

September 23rd: Lhasa - Shigatse - Lhatse - Namring - Saga 

My friends and I started the journey in the morning on the 23rd of September from Lhasa.  We travel quite fast this time; we have driven from Lhasa to Saga in one day. I would recommend Travelers travel slower since it's quite a lot of hours in the vehicle and also the altitude changes from 3700 meters to nearly 4400 meters in a day.

We have driven 280km from Lhasa to Shigatse by the northern Friendship highway passing a few towns Choshul, Nyemo, and  Rinpung.  From Shigatse, we traveled 150km to Lhatse town for lunch. We pass by Namring town with two stunning lakes on the way to Saga town. 

Photo: Beautiful snow on the way from Namring to Saga 

We arrived quite late at Saga town. The first checkpoint town near Mount Kailash. Saga town provides many good hotels and restaurants. 

September 24th: Saga - Drongpa - Paryang - Mayumla Pass - Lake Manasarovar - Darchen 

We traveled from Saga town to Darchen passing by Drongpa and Paryang town. We arrived near Lake Manasarovar after driving nearly 270km. We did the vehicle kora around Lake Manasarovar. The view of Mount Kailash from the lake was amazing. 

Photo: View of Mount Kailash from Lake Manasarovar 

We arrived late afternoon at Darchen town. There are many good hotels, including a 3-star hotel, namely the Himalaya Hotel with the Spa nearby, we stayed there for the night.

September 25th: Darchen - Dirapuk monastery ( Day one Kora trek ) (21km)

We started the trek around 6:30 in the morning when it was quite dark, and we could see the stars. We reached the Tarchen Saga Dawa festival prayer flag area around sunrise time.  We were fortunate to have good weather at Mount Kailash.

On the way, I met a single female Traveler from Xi an. She was exhausted and almost planning to give up the trek. I chatted with her and told her that I could help her to finish the kora, so we walked together. I carry her bag and pull her slowly with my right hand. 

Photo: Single female Traveler I met on the way

After trekking for 21km we finally reached the Dirapuk monastery. We stayed in small tent accommodation. They were two good hotels with electricity and a bathroom inside during summer. I climbed the nearby mountain to see the sunset of Mount Kailash. 

September 26th: Dirapuk monastery - Tutrola pass - Digpala pass - Drolmala pass - Zutrulpuk monastery ( Day two Kora trek ) (18km) 

Day two was one of the toughest trek, it's all climbing up until the summit of Drolmala Pass. (5600m) We enjoyed the terrific sunrise view of Mount Kailash (The Golden Kailash) near the Digpala Pass. (5000m)

Photo: Me enjoying Stunning Golden Mount Kailash 

We arrived afternoon at the summit of Drolmala Pass. The altitude of the Drolmala Pass is the highest on the whole trip at an elevation of 5600 meters.  After hiking down from the Drolmala pass, we can see a beautiful green-colored lake known as Drolma Tso Lake.   

We saw many Tibetan devotees prostrating on the way, even on the hard-sloping rock, and that is the beauty of Buddhism. I listened to one of the pilgrim prostrators' prayers, and he was chanting may all beings be happy. It was beautiful. May they be enlightened.

Photo: Tibetan pilgrims doing kora prostration around Mount Kailash 

 After the Drolma la Pass, the easy trail hiking starts all the way down to the Zutrulpuk monastery, it was snowing as a blessing of flowers from the sky. There is a cozy meditation cave of the great Tibetan Yogi Milarepa at the Zutrulpuk monastery. We stayed at the monastery guest house. There were two other comfortable accommodations that were under construction.  

September 27th:  Zutrulpuk monastery - Darchen town ( Day three kora trek ) (14km) 

The last day of the trek was 14km to Darchen town. A few holy sites of previous great masters, including handprints and footprints on the stone are the highlights of the last-day trek.  Check out my one-hour full video of the Trip.

We arrived around the afternoon at Darchen town. We celebrated our holy journey by hugging each other and rejoicing.

Conclusion

Mount Kailash is known as the center of our world.  Traveling to Mount Kailash is a lifetime journey for Travelers. After the trek of 52km in three days, my body feels lighter and my mind is blessed, I feel like I have eliminated some evil karma. 

The best months to travel to Mount Kailash are mid-April to mid-October. September is also a good time to travel to Mount Kailash with sunny weather most of the time. 

Thank you for reading my article on my trip to Mount Kailash.  For booking a tour to Mount Kailash. Email us at info@tibettravelers.com